The year coin collecting in the United States changed forever: Inside Coin World

We offer a quick look at what you’ll find in your October 16 print issue
of Coin World

The growth of coin collecting got a huge boost in 1857 when the last large cents were struck. As small copper-nickel cents entered circulation, Americans, spurred by nostalgia, began pulling large cents from circulation, though with no understanding as to which cents were rare, writes Q. David Bowers. Original images courtesy of American Numismatic Rarities.

The latest Coin World weekly issue, dated Oct. 16, 2017, is
out the door, and we present exclusive previews of a few articles, to
be found also in your latest digital edition of Coin World.

When coin collecting in the United States finally took off

By the 1830s, several hundred coin collectors were active in the
United States, with that number starting to grow in the 1850s, writes
Q. David Bowers in “Joys of Collecting.” The big boost came in 1858
when the government stopped issuing half cents and replaced the old
copper large cent with a smaller copper-nickel cent.

“A wave of nostalgia swept across America,” Bowers writes, adding “A
scramble ensued to acquire one of each date of cent minted since 1793.
… By 1858, with Flying Eagle cents common in circulation and copper
coins disappearing, a great passion arose for collecting cents.”

Doubled die variety has something else different

A Proof 1968-S Washington quarter dollar with a doubled die reverse
has been shown to have a different kind of variety on the obverse — a
repunched S Mint mark. In his “Varieties Notebook” column, John Wexler
reports on the discovery by a reader.

“The obverse of the coin exhibits a nice repunched Mint mark that
would be identified as an S/S West,” he explains, noting that this is
a new discovery and adding, “Working dies for the Proof quarter
dollars of this era struck about 2,200 Proof coins before being
retired from use, making both the doubled die reverse and the RPM
obverse quite rare.”

What book is a modern coin researcher’s secret weapon?

Modern researchers have a “secret weapon” in a book published at the
end of the 1980s, writes Joel Orosz in his “Numismatic Bookie” column.
The book helps numismatists understand how coins were made in
centuries past.

Denis R. Cooper’s The Art and Craft of Coinmaking: A History of
Minting Technology, is a classic work, Orosz writes, saying that
“no one was better qualified to write the book on the history of
minting technology” than Cooper, chief engineer and superintendent of
Britain’s Royal Mint and later founder of a company that designed and
sold specialized coining machinery.”

Why some wayward ‘grease’ caused great excitement in 1989

A coin struck from a grease-filled die is a common and generally
inexpensive form of error. For Washington quarter dollars, the Mint
mark on the obverse is a frequent target for the accumulation of
grease that prevents the Mint mark from being formed, notes the
“Readers Ask” column. Most such coins are worth a couple of dollars.

In 1989, however, publicity and market promotion of a 1989
Washington quarter dollar lacking a Mint mark pushed prices well above
normal levels, to more than $100. Error coin specialists were so upset
at the overinflated prices being charged that the largest organization
of error experts issued a public statement that said the coin some
dealers were selling for $150 was worth just $3.

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The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.

The Commission of Fine Artsâ recommendation for the Proof 2014 American Eagle platinum coin, left, brought outrage and derision at the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting. The CCAC recommended the design to the right.